The land utilisation unit of the revenue department issued the notification on December 28 and the project is estimated to be worth Rs6.6 billion. The project is expected to take four years through public and private partnership and, according to officials, the government has started looking for investors.
According to initial plans, the resort will include two- to five-star hotels, fast food chains, restaurants, recreational parks, shopping malls, golf club, convention centre, mosques and sports facilities.
Tourism department officials said that the lake will attract various segments of the population since it offers a diverse range of facilities. The department aims to offer an alternative to the population which currently enjoys vacations in either the northern areas of Pakistan or Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia.
The issue of acquiring land for the project was pending for a long time and now we have achieved the first step, said adviser to Sindh chief minister on tourism, Imtiaz Shaikh.
He added that President Zardari took interest in the project and that is why the process accelerated. Shaikh clarified that the project is completely eco-friendly and the site was previously barren and undeveloped. “There are no settlements on the site selected for the resort, therefore this development will not result in any displacements,” he said. “The local population is, however, living in extreme poverty, and should benefit from the economic stimulus generated by the development.” “We expect the residents of Thatta to take part in the conservation of the lake site,” he added.
Other tourism projects in Sindh
The government is also going to build a motel in Nangarparkar, Thar, for which a feasibility report has been prepared, said Shaikh.
“The estimated cost of the project will be around Rs27.46 million and five acres have been acquired,” he said.
The adviser further said that a rest house of the tourism department has been lying vacant for a long time and now the government is going to restore it. Referring to the Gorakh Hill station, he said that he recently took a delegation of businessmen, including Aqeel Karim Dhedhi and Arif Habib, to Gorakh Hill and they showed interest. “They are going to build a motel in Gorakh Hill,” he said. Sindh is rich in archaeological sites and that is why the government is planning to build tourism and other recreational spots. “Initially, we selected Rani Kot, Moen Jo Daro and Manchhar Lake to initiate projects with public-private partnership,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2011.
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